ABSD remission for married couples: the 6-month sell-after-buy clock
Buy your next home before selling the current one, and IRAS gives you 6 months to sell the first — or the ABSD is gone for good. Here are the conditions and a worked timeline.
What is ABSD remission?
A married couple gets back the ABSD on a second home if at least one spouse is a Singapore Citizen, the new home is in both names only, and the first home sells within 6 months of the purchase (or of TOP/CSC if uncompleted). Claim within 6 months of that sale. As at Tue 27 Oct 2026, IRAS.
Here is why it matters. Under the IRAS rates in force since 27 Apr 2023 (IRAS ABSD page, last updated 27 Aug 2026, opened Tue 27 Oct 2026), a Singapore Citizen buying a second residential property pays 20% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty. On a $1.6 million condo that is $320,000, due within 14 days of the signed contract.
The remission is IRAS giving that money back to an upgrading couple who sell the first home on time. It is a refund after the fact, not a waiver at the point of purchase: you pay first, then the money returns once the sale is done.
My read: this is the rule that decides whether an HDB-to-condo upgrade feels comfortable or painful, and the clock is stricter than most couples expect.
Can a married couple get the ABSD refund?
Yes, if every condition in the table holds. I have set out the seven conditions IRAS lists for a couple buying a second home, plus how the refund is claimed. Miss one and there is no refund.
ABSD refund for a married couple buying a second home · IRAS, Remission of ABSD for a Married Couple · as at Tue 27 Oct 2026
| Question | What IRAS requires |
|---|---|
| Who qualifies | A married couple where at least one spouse is a Singapore Citizen. SC and SC, SC and PR, SC and foreigner couples can qualify; a PR and foreigner couple cannot. |
| Whose names | The second home is bought in the two spouses’ names only. No parent, sibling or child on the title. |
| What you own on the purchase date | Neither spouse holds an interest in more than one residential property on the date the second home is bought. |
| ABSD paid | The ABSD on the second home has been paid. The refund comes after, not instead. |
| What must be sold | The first residential property, whether the couple co-own it or one spouse owns it alone. |
| Sale deadline | Within 6 months of the purchase date of the second home if it was completed when bought; within 6 months of its TOP or CSC, whichever is earlier, if it was bought uncompleted. |
| At the time of the sale | You are still married to each other and nobody has been added to or removed from the second home’s ownership. |
| No more buying | No other residential property bought or acquired since the second home. |
| Claim deadline | Within 6 months of the date of sale of the first home. |
| How to apply | myTax Portal, Stamp Duty Login, then Request, then Apply for Refund. IRAS says this works on a desktop, not on mobile. |
| Automatic refund | For purchase e-Stamping forms submitted on or after 2 Jul 2023 that declared the plan to sell the first home and claimed the refund: IRAS refunds automatically within 6 weeks of the sale of the first home being stamped, with no application. Purchases stamped before 2 Jul 2023 still apply through myTax Portal. |
| What is refunded | The ABSD paid on the second home. A couple of mixed profiles pays the highest applicable rate on the whole price (IRAS ABSD page), so the sum at stake is 30% for an SC and PR couple, or 60% where one spouse is a foreigner. |
Swipe to see the full table →
IRAS also says plainly that it will not extend the six-month timeline, and it suggests couples market the first home early at a realistic price, or find a buyer before committing to the next home. My read: that second suggestion is the one I would put first.
What if neither of you owns a home yet?
Then there is nothing to sell and nothing to refund. IRAS says a married couple buying jointly can get full ABSD remission when the couple includes a Singapore Citizen spouse, the home is bought in both names only, and neither spouse owns any residential property. Both BSD and ABSD are payable on stamping, but an eligible couple applies for the remission through myTax Portal (Stamp Duty Login) instead of paying the ABSD, and receives a remission certificate.
My read: this matters most for an SC spouse buying a first home with a PR or foreign spouse, because the joint purchase would otherwise carry the PR or foreigner rate.
When do the 6 months start, and what counts as selling?
Most people assume the clock starts when they collect the keys. For a completed home it starts much earlier. These are IRAS’s definitions, as at Tue 27 Oct 2026:
- Resale condo (or any completed property): the clock starts on the date of purchase, which IRAS takes as the day the Option to Purchase is accepted, or the date of the Sale and Purchase Agreement, or the transfer date where neither exists. Legal completion comes later and uses up part of your 6 months.
- New launch bought uncompleted: the clock starts on the TOP or CSC date, whichever is earlier. For a project that completes years from now, the window does not open until then, but the ABSD was paid at the start.
- What counts as the sale of the first home: the day your buyer accepts the Option to Purchase, or signs the Sale and Purchase Agreement, or the transfer date where neither applies. Granting an option your buyer has not yet exercised does not count. On my read, the sale completing after the 6 months is fine as long as the buyer’s acceptance fell inside them.
Worked timeline, resale purchase in 2026 (my illustration, not a real case):
Worked example, resale condo purchase · HDB sale · dates illustrative
| Date | What happens | Cash movement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 2026 | Couple exercises OTP on a $1.6M resale condo. This is the date of purchase: the 6-month clock starts here. | ABSD $320,000 + BSD $49,600 due by 15 Sep |
| 24 Nov 2026 | Legal completion of the condo purchase in this illustration. Almost 3 of the 6 months are already gone. | Balance of downpayment paid |
| Sep 2026 | HDB flat listed the same month — do not wait for the condo keys. Better still, list it before you sign for the condo. | — |
| Feb 2027 | Buyer found, OTP granted, and the buyer exercises it. This is the date of sale IRAS counts. | Option and exercise fees received |
| Apr–May 2027 | HDB sale completes some weeks after the option is exercised. Completing after the 6 months is fine; the exercise date is what counted. | Sale proceeds land; CPF refunded with accrued interest |
| Deadline | The flat's buyer must exercise the option by 1 Mar 2027, 6 months after 1 Sep 2026 (have your lawyer confirm the exact last day). If the refund was claimed in the e-Stamping form, IRAS returns the $320,000 within 6 weeks of the flat sale being stamped; otherwise apply via myTax Portal within 6 months of the sale date. | |
Swipe to see the full timeline →
Notice how tight that is even when everything goes right. The clock started the day the condo option was exercised, not the day the keys came, so one collapsed buyer in January can cost you $320,000. That is why the sale plan comes before the purchase signature, not after.
How much is the ABSD refund worth in dollars?
An illustrative case, not a real client: an SC couple, joint owners of a 5-room flat they value at about $720,000, MOP cleared. They buy a $1.6 million resale condo before selling. Stamp duty below uses the IRAS rates as at Tue 27 Oct 2026 (ABSD rates from 27 Apr 2023, BSD rates from 15 Feb 2023).
The refund is real money, but it only exists if the sale happens on time. Run your own figures first: the ABSD calculator shows what your profile pays, and the stamp duty (BSD) calculator gives the BSD band by band.
Should we sell first or buy first?
Both routes are legitimate. The remission is what makes buy-first possible. Whether it makes it sensible depends on your cash buffer.
Cash needed upfront
Housing between moves
Risk
My read: most upgrader families should sell first unless they can carry two properties comfortably for 6 months — and absorb the ABSD permanently if the sale falls through.
The full sell-and-upgrade walkthrough, with both routes mapped week by week, is on the HDB upgrade-to-condo guide. The selling side of the process is in the seller's guide, and the rest of my money and process guides are in the guides hub.
What if we miss the 6-month window?
Then the ABSD simply stays paid. IRAS’s remission page (opened Tue 27 Oct 2026) says the six-month timeline will not be extended, and the conditions leave no room for a partial refund. On the illustrative $1.6 million purchase, that is $320,000 turned from money you expected back into a permanent cost.
The two failure modes I see most: a sale priced off a neighbour's headline number that sits for months, and a purchase signed before anyone worked backwards from the deadline. Both are avoidable with one honest valuation and one dated plan.
Questions couples actually ask
It is IRAS refunding the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty a married couple paid on a second home, once the first home is sold in time. At least one spouse must be a Singapore Citizen, the second home must be in the couple's two names only, and the first home must be sold within 6 months. My read: treat the ABSD as a deposit you only get back if the sale happens on schedule.
If your purchase was e-Stamped on or after 2 Jul 2023 and the form declared that you will sell your first home and claimed the refund, IRAS pays it back automatically within 6 weeks of the sale being stamped, provided the conditions are met. Otherwise you apply on myTax Portal (Stamp Duty Login, then Request, then Apply for Refund, on a desktop) within 6 months of the date of sale. Ask your lawyer which route your stamping took.
For a home bought uncompleted, the 6 months start from the TOP or the CSC, whichever is earlier. What has to fall inside the window is the date of sale, which IRAS takes as the day your buyer accepts the Option to Purchase, or signs the Sale and Purchase Agreement. So the exercise date is the one that counts; on my read, the HDB resale completing after the 6 months does not by itself cost you the refund.
Yes, as long as one of you is a Singapore Citizen and the other conditions are met, so SC and SC, SC and PR, and SC and foreigner couples can all qualify. A PR and foreigner couple cannot. When spouses have different profiles, IRAS charges the highest applicable rate on the whole price, 30% for an SC and PR couple buying a second home or 60% where one spouse is a foreigner, and that is the sum at stake.
Then the refund is gone and the ABSD stays paid. IRAS states on its remission page that it will not extend the six-month timeline. My read: price the first home to sell well inside the window, so one buyer pulling out still leaves you time to find another.
Yes. ABSD is due within 14 days of the signed contract, which for a resale purchase is the exercised Option to Purchase, and the remission only comes back after your first home is sold. IRAS says paying stamp duty with CPF is subject to CPF Board's terms, so I check that with CPF for each case rather than assume it.
IRAS sets them out on its page Remission of ABSD for a Married Couple, in the stamp duty section on appeals, refunds, reliefs and remissions; the legal basis it names is the Stamp Duties (Spouses) (Remission of ABSD) Rules. I opened that page on Tue 27 Oct 2026 and the conditions table on this page follows it. An older IRAS remissions address now returns Page Not Found, so use the link in Sources and dates.
Not under this scheme. Every condition IRAS lists is built around a married couple buying jointly with at least one Singapore Citizen, so on my read a single buyer of a second home does not fit. IRAS's own FAQ covers single purchasers, and the route that avoids the second-home ABSD for a single upgrader is to sell before buying.
Map the clock before you sign anything
If you're upgrading, tell me what you own and what you're eyeing. I'll work backwards from the deadline with you — what your flat should fetch, when to list, and whether the buy-first route is safe for your numbers or a six-figure gamble.
Want me to map your ABSD clock against a real timeline?
Got it.
I'll WhatsApp you shortly, usually within the hour between 9am and 9pm.
Sources and dates
Last checked Tue 27 Oct 2026. Every rule and rate on this page comes from IRAS pages opened that day:
- IRAS: Remission of ABSD for a Married Couple (no last-updated date shown; opened Tue 27 Oct 2026): the seven conditions for the refund on a second home, the 6-month sale window from purchase or from TOP/CSC, the dates of purchase and sale, the 6-month claim deadline, the myTax Portal route, the automatic refund within 6 weeks for e-Stamping forms from 2 Jul 2023, the no-extension position, and full remission for a couple who own no home.
- IRAS: Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) (IRAS last updated 27 Aug 2026; opened Tue 27 Oct 2026): rates from 27 Apr 2023 (SC second home 20%, PR second home 30%, foreigner 60%), the highest rate applying to joint buyers of different profiles, the 14-day payment deadline, and CPF use being subject to CPF Board’s terms.
- IRAS: Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) (IRAS last updated 9 Oct 2026; opened Tue 27 Oct 2026): the bands from 15 Feb 2023 behind the $49,600 BSD on $1.6 million.